Produce transcripts of Radia tapes, Supreme Court tells CBI

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the CBI to produce on March 29 the transcripts of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia's telephonic conversations tapped by the Income-Tax department and given to the investigative agency.

A Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly also asked both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to file the final status reports on the investigation into the 2G scam.

The Bench, dealing with petitions on cancellation of spectrum licences, asked Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati to clarify on Thursday certain issues.

“What is the rationale behind the first come, first served policy in allotting 2G licence and spectrum? Was it suggested by TRAI?; when Aircel approached court for allotment of spectrum, the Telecom Department had said there was enough spectrum but the TRAI repeatedly recommended that spectrum was scarce and it should be used efficiently.”

The court also wanted to know whether some of the licensees got extra spectrum and how they were allowed to hold the same when there was scarcity and when lots of people were in queue to get spectrum.